Two sisters from the Oslo suburb of Bærum who traveled to Syria in 2013 have now been indicted for their alleged participation in the Islamic terrorist organization IS. Prosecutors claim the younger of the two sisters, who were age 16 and 19 at the time, tried to start a military training camp for women while both also married IS warriors and allegedly engaged in several other criminal activities.
The two women, now aged 26 and 30, deny the charges and claim they became victims of human trafficking while in the Middle East. They were brought home to Norway last year after having been in Syria for 10 years, most recently at a large refugee camp for women and their children.
Prosecutors claim, however, that they can prove how the two women voluntarily took part in IS activities and assisted the men to which they were married. The younger sister is also charged with having sworn allegiance to IS, taking part in a sharia course, trying to recruit other Norwegian women to join IS and punishing other women accused of being enemies of IS, or for not supporting IS ideology. Both face lengthy prison terms.
Their defense attorneys claim the women traveled to Syria only to help the civilian population. One of them worked as an English teacher but both claim they felt they had no power and couldn’t get out of Syria once they’d arrived.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
